Dalian Wanda Leads Investment in Ticketing Site LY.com

The China-based Dalian Wanda property and entertainment conglomerate is leading a $967 million investment in Chinese ticketing website LY.com to boost attendance at more than 12 Wanda amusement parks currently in operation or under construction. Wanda says its Wanda Culture Industry Group subsidiary will pay about half of the investment for an undisclosed stake in LY.com, which sells tickets to local attractions throughout China. An explosion in spending by Chinese on entertainment and tourism has been a windfall for LY.com, which enables users to look for attractions and events by city, read reviews of the attractions, and purchase tickets via the website. By increasing traffic to its amusement resorts, Wanda hopes to compete with rival parks that Walt Disney and Six Flags Entertainment are building in China. In 2014, the conglomerate opened a theme park in Wuhan, and the year before it started work on a mega-entertainment center that is scheduled to partially open next year.